Events

• 321 – Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire.

• 1277 – Stephen Tempier, bishop of Paris, condemns 219 philosophical and theological theses.

• 1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives.

• 1814 – Napoleon I of France wins the Battle of Craonne.

• 1827 – Brazil marines unsuccessfully attack the temporary naval base of Carmen de Patagones, Argentina.

• 1827 – Shrigley Abduction: Ellen Turner is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a future politician in colonial New Zealand.

• 1850 – Senator Daniel Webster gives his "Seventh of March" speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war.

• 1862 – American Civil War: Union forces defeat Confederate troops at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.

• 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the telephone beating Antonio Meucci by just 4 hours.

• 1887 – North Carolina State University is founded by the North Carolina General Assembly.

• 1912 – Roald Amundsen announces that his expedition had reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911.

• 1914 – Prince William of Wied arrives in Albania to begin his reign.

• 1936 – World War II (Prelude to): In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.

• 1945 – World War II: American troops seize the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen.

• 1950 – Cold War: The Soviet Union issues a statement denying that Klaus Fuchs served as a Soviet spy.

• 1951 – Korean War: Operation Ripper – United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against Chinese forces.

• 1965 – Bloody Sunday: A group of 600 civil rights marchers are forcefully broken up in Selma, Alabama.

• 1971 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivers his historic "This time the struggle is for our freedom" speech at Ramna Race Course, calling upon the Bengali people to prepare for the freedom struggle ahead.

• 1984 – The United States attacks San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.

• 1986 – Challenger Disaster: Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor.

• 1989 – Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a row over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel.

• 1994 – Copyright Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.

• 2007 – British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected.

Births

• 189 – Publius Septimius Geta, Roman Emperor (d. 211)

• 1481 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (d. 1537)

• 1556 – Guillaume du Vair, French writer (d. 1621)

• 1671 – Robert Roy MacGregor, Scottish folk hero (d. 1734)

• 1678 – Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (d. 1736)

• 1687 – Jean Lebeuf, French historian (d. 1760)

• 1693 – Pope Clement XIII (d. 1769)

• 1715 – Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet (d. 1759)

• 1715 – Ephraim Williams, American philanthropist (d. 1755)

• 1730 – Baron de Breteuil, French statesman (d. 1807)

• 1765 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor of photography (d. 1833)

• 1785 – Alessandro Manzoni, Italian writer (d. 1873)

• 1788 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist (d. 1878)

• 1792 – John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1871)

• 1837 – Henry Draper, American physician and astronomer (d. 1882)

• 1841 – William Rockhill Nelson, American publisher (The Kansas City Star) and patron of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (d. 1915)

• 1849 – Luther Burbank, American botanist (d. 1926)

• 1850 – Champ Clark, American politician (d. 1921)

• 1850 – Tomáš Masaryk, first President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1937)

• 1857 – Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1940)

• 1872 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch painter (d. 1944)

• 1873 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (d. 1959)

• 1875 – Maurice Ravel, French composer (d. 1937)

• 1878 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter (d. 1927)

• 1887 – Heino Eller, Estonian composer (d. 1970)

• 1888 – Alidius Warmoldus Lambertus Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician (d. 1978)

• 1893 – Milton Avery, American artist (d. 1965)

• 1902 – Heinz Rühmann, German actor (d. 1994)

• 1904 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1969)

• 1904 – Reinhard Heydrich, German Nazi SS senior officer (d. 1942)

• 1908 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress (d. 1973)

• 1909 – Léo Malet, French writer (Nestor Burma) (d. 1996)

• 1915 – Jacques Chaban-Delmas, French politician (d. 2000)

• 1917 – Lee Young, American jazz drummer and singer (d. 2008)

• 1922 – Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 2004)

• 1925 – Rene Gagnon, American Marine shown in photograph of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1979)

• 1927 – James Broderick, American actor (d. 1982)

• 1927 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and teacher (d. 2006)

• 1927 – Henri Landwirth, Belgian-American hotelier and philanthropist

• 1930 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, British aristocrat, Lord Snowdon, former husband of Princess Margaret

• 1933 – Jackie Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1998)

• 1934 – Willard Scott, American television broadcaster

• 1934 – Giorgos Katsaros, Greek musician and composer

• 1938 – David Baltimore, American biologist, Nobel laureate

• 1938 – Janet Guthrie, American race car driver

• 1940 – Rudi Dutschke, German student leader (d. 1979)

• 1940 – Daniel J. Travanti, American actor

• 1942 – Tammy Faye Bakker, American televangelist (d. 2007)

• 1942 – Michael Eisner, American film studio executive

• 1942 – Charles R. Boutin, American politician

• 1943 – Chris White, British musician (The Zombies)

• 1944 – Sir Ranulph Fiennes, British soldier and explorer

• 1944 – Zhiuli Shartava, Georgian politician and the Head of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (d. 1993)

• 1944 – Stanley Schmidt, American editor

• 1944 – Townes Van Zandt, American musician and songwriter (d. 1997)

• 1945 – John Heard, American actor

• 1945 – Arthur Lee, American musician (Love) (d. 2006)

• 1946 – Matthew Fisher, British musician (Procol Harum)

• 1946 – Peter Wolf, American musician (The J. Geils Band)

• 1947 – Helen Eadie, Scottish politician

• 1947 – Richard Lawson, American actor

• 1947 – Walter Röhrl, German race and rally car driver

• 1949 – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician

• 1950 – Iris Chacon, Puerto Rican singer and dancer

• 1950 – Billy Joe Dupree, American football player

• 1950 – Franco Harris, American football player

• 1951 – Francis Rocco Prestia, American musician (Tower of Power)

• 1952 – Ernie Isley, American musician (The Isley Brothers)

• 1952 – Viv Richards, Antiguan West Indies cricketer

• 1952 – Lynn Swann, American football player

• 1955 – Anupam Kher, Indian actor

• 1955 – Tommy Kramer, American football player

• 1956 – Bryan Cranston, American actor

• 1957 – Robert Harris, English TV reporter and journalist

• 1958 – Alan Hale, American astronomer

• 1958 – Rik Mayall, British actor

• 1959 – Donna Murphy, American actress

• 1960 – Jim Spivey, American track and field athlete

• 1960 – Joe Carter, American baseball player

• 1960 – Ivan Lendl, Czech tennis player

• 1962 – Taylor Dayne, American singer

• 1962 – Peter Manley, English darts player

• 1963 – Bill Brochtrup, American actor

• 1963 – Denyce Graves, American singer

• 1963 – Kim Ung-Yong, Korean child prodigy.

• 1964 – Bret Easton Ellis, American writer

• 1964 – Wanda Sykes, American actress and comedienne

• 1965 – Jack Armstrong, American baseball player

• 1965 – Steve Beuerlein, American football player

• 1965 – Cameron Daddo, Australian actor

• 1965 – Jesper Parnevik, Swedish golfer

• 1966 – Joy Tanner, American actress

• 1967 – Ai Yazawa, Japanese mangaka

• 1967 – Ruthie Henshall, English theatre actress and singer

• 1967 – Jean-Pierre Barda, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)

• 1968 – Denis Boucher, Canadian baseball player

• 1968 – Jeff Kent, American baseball player

• 1969 – Warrel Dane, American singer (Nevermore)

• 1969 – Hideki Noda, Japanese racing driver

• 1969 – Shin Ae Ra, Korean actress and radio DJ

• 1971 – Peter Sarsgaard, American actor

• 1971 – Matthew Vaughn, British film producer and director

• 1971 – Rachel Weisz, British actress

• 1972 – Jang Dong-gun, South Korean actor and musician

• 1972 – Maxim Roy, Quebec actress

• 1973 – Jason Bright, Australian racing driver

• 1973 – Sébastien Izambard, operatic pop singer (Il Divo)

• 1973 – Ray Parlour, English footballer

• 1974 – Larry Bagby, American actor and musician

• 1974 – Jenna Fischer, American actress

• 1974 – Facundo Sava, Argentine footballer

• 1975 – TJ Thyne, American actor

• 1977 – Gianluca Grava, Italian footballer

• 1977 – Paul Cattermole, British singer, actor and member of pop group S Club

• 1977 – Ronan O'Gara, Irish rugby union footballer

• 1977 – Mitja Zastrow, German-born swimmer

• 1979 – Rodrigo Braña, Argentine footballer

• 1980 – Éric Godard, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1980 – Laura Prepon, American actress

• 1982 – Kate Michael, American beauty queen

• 1982 – Erika Yamakawa, Japanese talent

• 1983 – Manucho, Angolan footballer

• 1983 – Taylor Tankersley, American baseball player

• 1984 – Mathieu Flamini, French footballer

• 1984 – Brandon T. Jackson, American actor

• 1985 – Thomas Erak, American guitarist

• 1985 – Andre Fluellen, American football player

• 1986 – Ben Griffin, Australian soccer player

• 1989 – Gerald Anderson, Filipino actor and model

• 1990 – Abigail and Brittany Hensel, American conjoined twins

• 1992 – Bel Powley, English Actress

Deaths

• 322 BC – Aristotle, Greek philosopher (b. 384 BC)

• 161 – Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor (b. 86)

• 308 – Saint Eubulus, Christian martyr

• 851 – Nominoe, Duke of Brittany

• 1226 – William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English military leader

• 1274 – Thomas Aquinas, Philosopher (b. 1225)

• 1578 – Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (b. 1515)

• 1625 – Johann Bayer, German astronomer (b. 1572)

• 1724 – Pope Innocent XIII (b. 1655)

• 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French colonizer (b. 1680)

• 1778 – Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist (b. 1720)

• 1810 – Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, British admiral (b. 1750)

• 1904 – Ferdinand André Fouqué, French geologist (b. 1828)

• 1913 – Emily Pauline Johnson, Native Canadian poet (b. 1861)

• 1928 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon (b. 1851)

• 1932 – Aristide Briand, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1862)

• 1938 – Andreas Michalakopoulos, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)

• 1939 – John Jules Barrish, Irish writer (b. 1885)

• 1949 – Francis Dodd, English artist (b. 1874)

• 1949 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player (b. 1884)

• 1952 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (b. 1893)

• 1954 – Otto Diels, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)

• 1957 – Wyndham Lewis, British author (b. 1882)

• 1965 – Louise Mountbatten, Swedish queen (b. 1889)

• 1967 – Alice B. Toklas, American companion to Gertrude Stein (b. 1877)

• 1974 – Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor (b. 1906)

• 1975 – Mikhail Bakhtin, Russian philosopher (b. 1895)

• 1975 – Ben Blue, Canadian actor (b. 1901)

• 1976 – Wright Patman, American politician (b. 1893)

• 1978 – Steve Bilko, American baseball player (b. 1928)

• 1981 – Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)

• 1983 – Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian conductor and composer (b. 1912)

• 1984 – Paul Rotha, English director (b. 1907)

• 1986 – Jacob Javits, American politician (b. 1904)

• 1988 – Divine, American actor (b. 1945)

• 1988 – Robert Livingston, American film actor (b. 1904)

• 1991 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player (b. 1903)

• 1995 – Paul-Émile Victor, French explorer (b. 1907)

• 1997 – E. H. Bronner, German-American soap magnate (b. 1908)

• 1997 – Edward Mills Purcell, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)

• 1999 – Sidney Gottlieb, American CIA official (b. 1918)

• 1999 – Stanley Kubrick, American film director (b. 1928)

• 2000 – Charles Gray, British actor (b. 1928)

• 2000 – Pee Wee King, American country music songwriter and musician (b. 1914)

• 2001 – Frankie Carle, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1903)

• 2004 – Paul Winfield, American actor (b. 1941)

• 2005 – John Box, British film production designer and art director (b. 1920)

• 2005 – Debra Hill, American screenwriter and film producer (b. 1950)

• 2006 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian musician (b. 1939)

• 2006 – Gordon Parks, photographer (b. 1912)

• 2006 – John Junkin, British performer (b. 1930)

• 2007 – Frankie Carle, American Pianist

• 2009 – Jang Ja-yeon, South Korean actress (b. 1982)

Holidays and observances

• Albania — Teacher's Day

• Catholicism — Feast day of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, patron saint of married woman